There has been a long standing but largely unfullfilled need for a parking aid to enable the driver of a car or other vehicle to successfully park same in a garage without damaging the front wall of the garage or whatever may be stored in a position adjacent thereto, viz., between the car and the garage wall. The term "front wall" as used herein is intended to denote the wall the driver of the vehicle approaches as the vehicle is pulled into said garage or other parking facility.
Many parking aid devices have been proposed in the prior art and each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, there is a long unfullfilled need for a parking aid which is capable of not only informing the driver of the vehicle when to stop same to avoid damaging the front wall of the garage, or material stored adjacent thereto, but also is inexpensive, will not readily break and can be reset or repositioned if judgemental parking errors are made.
The present invention offers a combination of beneficial properties and features at a minimum cost since it uses readily available, inexpensive materials. The parking aid of this invention offers a dual visual warning and is comprised of a readily deflectable spherical or other configuration first visual warning member secured to a separate bendable member, preferably a tubular metal standard or shaft, constituting a second visual warning member, by a flexible means such as a chain, rope, string, etc. A base for the shaft completes the assembly. The operation of the dual visual warning device of this invention is such that a first visual warning member contacts the forward most portion of the front end, or rear end of the car or other vehicle being parked, causing its deflection readily forward away from the driver toward the front wall of the garage. The second visual warning is bumper activated and occurs later when the forwardmost portion of the front or rear bumper touches the bendable shaft causing it to bend or rotate (rock) toward the garage front wall depending on whether the base is fixedly secured to the garage floor or not.
As noted above, various particular parking devices are illustrated in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 1,981,188 to W. H. Pavitt is directed primarily to a single visual indicator type of target C mounted on a flexible metal bar c.sup.1 such that when the car bumper b touches the flexible metal bar, it deflects the indicator on target producing a rearward motion as an indicator at eye level to the driver of the automobile B. The flexible metal bar can be bent at an angle so as to be perceived by the driver of the automobile when contacted by the rear bumper of the car (FIG. 6). In place of the flexible metal bar, a rope, chain or other flexible element can be employed as per FIGS. 7, 8, and 9. However, such alternate flexible element is likewise bumper actuated. The bumper-actuated embodiment of FIG. 9 can utilize two visual indicators, but both of these are actuated at the same time upon contact with the car bumper. The present invention is distinguished from Pavitt in that the first and second dual indicators operate at different times dependent upon contact with different portions of the car (hood or rearend and bumper) as adjusted by bending of the bendable shaft or standard.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,854,942 to J. A. Ross and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,817,203 and 3,874,322 issued to William Alvin Brauer are directed to the use of ball-like visual indicators suspended from the region of the garage ceiling, which contact the automobile windshield when the car has progressed sufficiently towards the garage front wall. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,817,203 and 3,874,322 are movable parking indicators which move in conjunction with the garage door such that when the garage door is open, the parking aid device is lowered to a position where it will contact the automobile windshield when in the desired forward position. When the garage door is closed, the indicator is retracted upward towards the guides or tracks on which the garage door rollers or pulleys travel.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,981 to Meridith P. Sparks is directed to a combination of a plumb, a plumbline, and a light weight object, such as a spherically shaped "brusher" with its separate line, suspended from the garage ceiling. The plumb provides the driver of the vehicle with an indication as to where the centerline of the car should be steered whereas the brusher deflects in response to movement of the front or hood portion of the car.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,165 to Harmin V. Wood is a parking guide, activated by the bumper of the vehicle, to simultaneously actuate an audible and a visible signal to aprise the driver of his progress in parking the car. The audible signal is a bell which is sounded by first cocking and then releasing a spring hammer whereas the visible signal is a rectangular reflector supported on a shaft which is cam operated to pivot through 90.degree. so that its full face is in front of the driver to indicate proximity to the impending garage wall. The reflectors mounting post also supports a small, brightly colored sphere which may be used as a reference to indicate the center of the parking lane to the driver.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,706,462 issued to D. J. Evans is directed to a pair of garage door guides mounted on the sides of the entrance way into the garage comprising a pair of return bend brackets integral with spring rods, each having a stationary, resilient ball mounted at the top portion thereof with an intermediate resilient slidable ball 17 which can be adjusted to appropriate heighths depending upon the proportions of the automobile parked in the garage. The driver watches the upper ball 20 to gauge his distance between the side portions of the entrance way to the garage so as to avoid hitting same.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,121,416 to J. M. Gizdich, 3,219,972 to L. R. Williams and 3,261,321 to O. Mandl illustrate other variations on bumper-actuated visual and audio parking aids employed in automobile garage situations.